What is StarLink?
Starlink is a satellite web heavenly body worked by SpaceX, giving satellite Internet access inclusion to the vast majority of the Earth. The group of stars has developed to north of 1,700 satellites through 2021 and will ultimately comprise of a huge number of efficiently manufactured little satellites in low Earth circle (LEO), which speak with assigned ground handsets. While the specialized chance of satellite web access covers the greater part of the worldwide populace, genuine help can be conveyed uniquely in nations that have authorized SpaceX to offer support inside a particular public locale. As of February 2022, the beta network access offering is accessible in 29 nations.[still update]
How fast is StarLink's internet access?
"Client can expect to see data speeds vary from 50 to 150 megabits per second and latency from 20 to 40 milliseconds in most locations over the next several months," Starlink's website says, while also warning of brief periods of no connectivity at all. "As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speed, latency and uptime will improve dramatically."
To that end, Musk tweeted in February of last year that he expects the service to double its top speeds to 300Mbps by the end of 2021. Now, in 2022, claims like those are difficult to evaluate, as speeds will vary depending on time and location.
Last year, CNET's John Kim signed up for the service at his home in California and recently began testing it out at a variety of locations. At home, he averaged download speeds around 78Mbps, and latency around 36ms.
How much StarLink cost?
Starlink is now accepting orders on a first-come, first-served basis, so you'll need to request service and then wait your way through the backlog. During its beta in 2021, Starlink said that some preorders could take as long as six months to fulfill. The cost of the service is billed at $99 per month, plus taxes and fees, plus an initial payment of $499 for the mountable satellite dish and router that you'll need to install at home.
$99 per month is a lot for an internet connection, especially one that isn't nearly as fast as a fiber connection, but Musk is betting that the cost will be worth it for people who have thus far lived without access to a reliably fast connection at all.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell has said that she expects the $499 upfront cost of the receiver dish to come down in the coming years as SpaceX refines its dish design to lower production costs. The newest version of the dish, introduced with FCC approval in November, is smaller and less expensive to produce than the previous version, though customers will still need to pay an upfront fee of $499 to use it.
Where is StarLink available?
Per Musk, the list of countries currently serviced by the growing network of low-earth orbit satellites includes the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand. Starlink's preorder agreement includes options for requesting service in other countries, too, including Italy, Poland, Spain and Chile and newest is Ukraine.
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| StarLink Disk |
There's still a ways to go -- Starlink will likely need at least 10,000 satellites in orbit before it can claim to offer full service to a majority of the globe (and SpaceX has shown signs that it wants as many as 42,000 satellites in the constellation). Right now, it's only about 20% of the way there, at best, with coverage focused on regions sitting between 45 and 53 degrees north latitude.
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